First published 2013
Sarah Zorn has her Wisconsin summer mapped out. She'll hang around with Curtis, her fake boyfriend, and wait for Boris the dead calf to rot enough for her science fair project. Then her hippie grandmother swoops in with an invitation to Rome that changes everything. Sarah's pretend romance with Curtis backfires spectacularly right before she leaves for Italy. Now she's wandering through ancient Roman sites with Grandma Z, who keeps acting strange and secretive. Sarah writes everything down in her journal as she tries to figure out her confusing feelings for Curtis from thousands of miles away. She also needs to decode whatever her grandmother is really up to in Italy. The trip becomes a crash course in sorting out crushes, family mysteries, and what it means to grow up when nothing goes according to plan.
Genres: fiction, family, romance, contemporary, adolescence, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Italy, Rome, Wisconsin
Period: Contemporary
208 pages · Unknown Binding · Clarion Books